Juncus tenuis |
Juncus elliottii |
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path rush, poverty or slender rush, poverty rush, slender rush |
Elliott's rush |
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Habit | Herbs, perennial, tufted, 1.5–5 dm. | Herbs, perennial, cespitose, 3–9 dm. |
Roots | often with terminal tubers. |
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Rhizomes | densely branching. |
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Culms | few–20. |
erect, terete, 1–3 mm diam., smooth. |
Cataphylls | 1, maroon to brown, apex acute. |
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Leaves | basal, (1–)2–3; auricles 2–5 mm, apex acute, membranous; blade flat, 3–12 cm × 0.5–1 mm, margins entire. |
basal 1–3, cauline 1–2; auricles 0.5–2 mm, apex rounded, scarious; blade green or maroon, compressed, 2–16 cm × 1–2 mm. |
Inflorescences | 5–40-flowered, borne congested or branch internodes ca. as long as tepals, ssomewhat loose, 1–5 cm; primary bract usually longer than inflorescence. |
terminal panicles of 40–100(–200) heads, 4–16 cm, branches ascending to spreading; primary bract erect to ascending; heads 2–10-flowered, hemispheric to obpyramidal, 0.3–0.5 mm diam. |
Flowers | bracteoles 2; tepals greenish, lanceolate, 3.3–4.4 mm; outer and inner series nearly equal; stamens 6, filaments 0.5–0.9 mm, anthers 0.1–0.2 mm; style 0.1–0.2 mm. |
tepals straw-colored, lanceolate, apex acuminate; outer tepals (2.2–)2.6–2.9 mm; inner tepals (1.8–)2.4–2.8; stamens 3, anthers 2/3 to equal filament length. |
Capsules | tan or light brown, 1-locular to pseudo-3-locular, ellipsoid, (3.3–)3.8–4.7 × (1.1–)1.3–1.7 mm, nearly equal to tepals. |
exserted, chestnut brown, 1-locular, narrowly obpyriform to narrowly ovoid, 2.4–2.9 mm, apex acute, valves separating at dehiscence. |
Seeds | tan, ellipsoid to lunate, (0.52–)5.5–0.65(–0.7) mm, not tailed. |
ellipsoid, 0.3–0.5 mm, not tailed; body clearly yellow-brown. |
, with faint ringlike bands at position of septa. | ||
2n | = 80. |
= 40. |
Juncus tenuis |
Juncus elliottii |
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Phenology | Flowering spring–early summer. | Fruiting summer. |
Habitat | Exposed or shaded sites in soils ranging from sandy to clayey under moist or drier conditions, oftentimes these sites naturally or otherwise disturbed (e.g., game or human trails) | Wet sands, peaty sands, or peat, exposed shores of ponds and lakes, depressions in savannas and flatwoods, moist to wet, much disturbed clearings, roadsides and ditches |
Elevation | 0–700 m (0–2300 ft) | |
Distribution |
AK; AL; AR; AZ; CA; CO; CT; DC; DE; FL; GA; IA; ID; IL; IN; KS; KY; LA; MA; MD; ME; MI; MN; MO; MS; MT; NC; ND; NE; NH; NJ; NM; NV; NY; OH; OK; OR; PA; RI; SC; SD; TN; TX; UT; VA; VT; WA; WI; WV; WY; AB; BC; MB; NB; NS; ON; PE; QC; SK [Introduced worldwide]
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AL; AR; DE; FL; GA; LA; MS; NC; NJ; SC; TN; TX; VA
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Discussion | Juncus tenuis occurs throughout North America. It is particularly abundant in northeastern United States and eastern Canada, although infrequent in the south and west. Through the use of isozyme electrophoresis, hybridization can be demonstrated between various members of the Juncus tenuis complex, including Juncus tenuis, J. anthelatus, J. interior, J. secundus, and J. dichotomus (R. E. Brooks, unpubl.). Juncus ××oronensis is thought to be a hybrid between J. tenuis and J. vaseyi in the northeast. (Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.) |
Juncus elliottii has tubers at the ends of the roots. (Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.) |
Source | FNA vol. 22. | FNA vol. 22. |
Parent taxa | Juncaceae > Juncus > subg. Poiophylli | Juncaceae > Juncus > subg. Septati |
Sibling taxa | ||
Synonyms | J. bicornis, J. bicornis var. williamsii, J. macer, J. macer, J. macer var. williamsii, J. tenuis var. bicornis, J. tenuis var. multicornis, J. tenuis var. williamsii | |
Name authority | Willdenow: Sp. Pl. 2(1): 214. (1799) | Chapman: Fl. South. U.S. 494. (1860) |
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